By Sarah Saad
Egypt’s Minister of State for Military Production Mohamed Salah Eddin Moustafa outlined several of his ministry’s achievements, emphasising the priority of manufacturing and production to meet the needs of the armed forces and the police with weapons, ammunition, equipment, and up-to-date electronics.
During his meeting with journalists at the ministry’s headquarters in the New Administrative Capital, the minister stressed the necessity of boosting civilian production to support development projects being carried out across the country, with the chief aim of cutting the import bill.
He referred to efforts being made to achieve economic growth through making the best use of human capabilities, technological resources, and investment facilities.
Minister Moustafa commended the support from the political leadership to overcome obstacles to achieve the highest level of manufacturing quality, in line with global standards and regulations.
In statements to The Egyptian Gazette, Minister Moustafa said that his ministry is working on restructuring military factories and affiliated companies with the aim of increasing production and boosting local economy. He said that improving the skills of employees is a must, as the human resources are the backbone of the production process.
Moustafa said that the Ministry of Military Production is ready to co-operate with any serious researcher, be it an individual or institution, to contribute to localising industry.
He pointed out that the ministry is working on developing and conducting various technical research in both military and civilian fields.
He said that the “Sina 200” armoured vehicle is being manufactured in collaboration with the Armed Forces as part of research efforts.
Additionally, the ministry is collaborating with a number of civilian entities to localise industry, and has developed Egypt’s first rocket launcher, the “Ra’ad 200,” which the Ministry of Military Production designed, manufactured, and developed.
Asked by The Egyptian Gazette about the impact of global conflicts and the current economic situation on previously signed protocols and agreements, the ministeraffirmed that the state is working to develop military manufacturing. He said that the protocols and agreements are being implemented as agreed upon, adhering to strict standards and regulations.
He said that his ministry has announced plans to manufacture an alternative vehicle to the tuk-tuk. Moustafadetailed that this new vehicle will feature a dual-fuel engine, capable of running on both gasoline and natural gas.
“The ministry will collaborate with the private sector to produce this vehicle. The initial phase will see the importation of 200 units, which will be used as a benchmark before commencing local production,” Minister Moustafa said, adding that these vehicles will come with four doors and will be fully licensed, with after-sales services provided by a designated private sector company.
He highlighted that the ministry has been working on manufacturing electric buses in coordination with a private sector company. “The ministry is producing around 100 shuttle buses for use on the Ring Road, which will be supplied to the Ministry of Transport in the near future,” he told the journalists.
Minister Moustafa told this newspaper that the ministry is committed to implementing several investment projects to develop production lines and provide advanced machinery to meet diverse production and development requirements.
Regarding artificial intelligence technology, he told the Gazette that efforts are being made to employ robots in military subsidiaries to achieve good returns both economically and in terms of worker safety, without replacing human labour.
